Mother Livid After Finding Six-Month-Old Locked Alone Inside Daycare

posted by Bill Galluccio -

Nov 9, 2018

A mother from Montana panicked when she went to pick her six-month-old son up from daycare only to find that the lights were off, the doors were locked, and her baby was all alone inside.Tanaya Merchen immediately called the director of the daycare center, who told her she was on her way.

"So it was instant panic like I had no idea what the situation was I just knew I couldn't get in there, and I knew nobody else picked my baby up, so I was very confused," Merchen told KULR. "I called the director lady – the one I communicate with the most. She answers and instantly she already knew. She told me, she said, 'I am so mad. I am almost there.'"

The owner of Kids "R" Us, Kim Redding, explained that the boy was left behind because of a miscommunication between staff members after one of them fell ill and had to go home early.

"It was a horrible mistake, and we're sorry, and we got a damage control method just to double check all of the staff to check out the sign-out sheets just to be careful, and it was a horrible mistake. I'm not downplaying it, it was a bad mistake," Redding said.

“I can’t even tell you, it’s overwhelming at this point. I could not put him down last night. I mean, that’s all I could do is just sit there and so thankful that nothing bad happened to him during that situation,” Redding explained to KTVH.

Merchen said that she has not returned to the daycare since the incident and believes that other parents should stay away as well.

"I mean, at this point, I would definitely recommend nobody ever take their child there," Merchen said.

Kids "R" Us has had multiple complaints filed since 2007, included issues with there not being enough staff members for the number of kids, and problems with the facility keeping proper records.